In die casting processes such as for aluminum and alloy manufacturing processes, channels are cut in a permanent mold assembly to form a sprue/gating system to fill a die casting part mold (such as for a cylinder head for a vehicle). Molten metal is generally ladled into the mold and fed by either gravity or under pressure, and generally the molds are filled as quickly as practical so as to fill all of the mold cavities in an efficient manner prior to “freezing” of the metal. In this process, a smooth, streamlined flow of material is critical to minimize undesirable interaction of the flowing molten metal with the atmosphere or with the mold itself. For example, turbulent flow can erode the mold walls and/or trap particles in the molten material. Similarly, oxygen in the air can react with aluminum, manganese, or silicon dissolved in steel to form oxide particles which can harm the mold and/or make the resulting cast product weak and/or flawed.
In order to assist in proper filling of the mold and flow of material through the mold runners, sprues and gates, a small piece of light gauge steel or tin mesh (sometimes called a “screen”) is often placed in various portions of the mold to allow the various portions of the distribution system and the mold itself to fill in a controlled manner and with “clean” metal (i.e., without debris or other particles).
In the prior processes, an operator would be required to manually place a plurality of screens in the die one by one. Because these small screen pieces are relatively difficult to handle while wearing protective gloves (generally needed around the harsh environment of working die casting molds), and due to the desire for fast cycle times in manufacturing processes of this type, delays caused by this relatively time-consuming and cumbersome task generally slowed the process down and sometimes caused workers to inadvertently attempt to speed up other processes (e.g., the placement of expendable mold cores and the like) causing undue breakage, waste, shop area uncleanliness and the like. The task of individually placing screens in the die cavities could also be physically demanding and stressful for the labor force. Due to the small size, lightweight and rough surfaces of the mesh screens, it can also be difficult for a worker to physically pick up the proper number of screens (e.g., four) from a stack of screens, causing further delay and frustration in the process. As will be understood, the rough screens often stick to heavy gloves and are difficult to place within the die in proper position with gloves on.
In addition, between each “shot” of the die casting process, the die must be cleaned to remove debris from a previous shot. When cleaning the die, however, the worker must cover each sprue to ensure that debris from the previous shot does not get into the mold. Heretofore, a jig with an appropriate number plates at each end has been used to cover each sprue when cleaning the die. However, placing such jig in the die, cleaning the die, removing the jig and then manually positioning the screens in each sprue is very time consuming and inefficient.
As such, there is a desire for an apparatus capable of increasing the efficiency of the die casting process thereby eliminating the aforementioned issues.